Humans are hardwired to give and receive touch. As infants, it’s the way we explore the world around us. Even before we can see clearly, our skin — the largest organ in the body — is in contact with our environment. Newborn bodies respond to the temperature in the room, the texture of whatever is […]
Jacob likes to say that his father was the only person in his family allowed to express emotion, although the only emotion he expressed was anger. If the paperboy missed the driveway, his father raged. If the pasta was overcooked, rage. If Jacob stuttered while trying to answer his father’s demanding questions, more rage. Rage
There are lots of possible emotional barriers we can place as obstacles to our recovery. Our inner addict, after all, looks for any ruse to give us an excuse to use again. Ruses that work best are ones that create difficult emotions or that disconnect us from feeling and understanding our emotions. Let’s take a
Therapists at The Ranch, an addiction and mental health treatment center noted for state-of-the-art integrative programs, are using music to help clients work through the addictive process and lock in therapeutic gains. Nunnelly, TN (PRWEB) Aug. 13, 2014 – Therapists at The Ranch are using music in novel new ways. The treatment center in Tennessee
It is probably not surprising that so many people decide to pursue sobriety around the winter holidays, mainly because this time of year signals both an ending an a new beginning. Nothing is more indicative of a fresh start than New Year’s, so making a resolution to quit drinking, using drugs, and/or engaging in addictive
Many addicts feel as if they are the problem, as if they are flawed in some deeply meaningful way and therefore doomed to a life of misery, isolation, and regrettable behaviors. Oftentimes addicts in recovery need a great deal of time before they can even begin to understand that they are not inherently defective, that
The “Recovery Value” of Guilt, Shame, and Remorse (Part One) Read More »
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. The first thing to do when you approach step twelve is to recognize the first portion of step’s language: having had a spiritual awaking as the
Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. Step eleven, like step ten, is not a step that is worked once and then forgotten. Instead, it is part of an ongoing
Continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. Step ten in most respects is the logical culmination of the previous nine steps. In essence, the first nine steps are about stopping the bleeding of addiction, and then identifying and cleaning up the wreckage of our pasts. Step ten begins the
Made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. After working step eight, you should have a list of people you have harmed and you should be willing to make amends to them all. If so, then you are ready to work step nine. Step nine
